Evolutionary aspects of mating and reproduction in honeybees [Elektronische Ressource] / von Helge Schlüns

Helge Kragh

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• Publié par: martin-luther-universitat_halle-wittenberg
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 10
• Langue: English

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Evolutionary aspects of mating and reproduction in honeybees   Dissertation (kumulativ)   zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades doctor rerum naturalium (Dr. rer. nat.)   vorgelegt der   Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlich-Technischen Fakultät (mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlicher Bereich) der Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg   von Herrn Helge Schlüns geb. am 27.07.1970 in Berlin   Gutachterin bzw. Gutachter:   1. Prof. Dr. R.F.A Moritz   2. Prof. Dr. J. Heinze   3. Prof. Dr. R.H. Crozier      Datum der Verteidigung: 01.04.2004, Halle (Saale)        

 

urn:nbn:de:gbv:3-000006466 [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn=nbn%3Ade%3Agbv%3A3-000006466]

 

Contents   1 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................2    1.1 Mating and Reproduction in social Hymenoptera...............................................2   1.2 Males in social Hymenoptera.................................................................................3    1.3 Reproduction in Honeybees...................................................................................4   1.4 Aims and Objectives of the Thesis.........................................................................5   1.5 References................................................................................................................6    2. SUMMARY...............................................................................................9    3. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG.........................................................................10    4. Multiple nuptial flights, sperm transfer and the evolution of extreme polyandry in honeybee queens....................................................................12    4.1 Abstract..................................................................................................................12    5. Sperm numbers in drone honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) depend on body size.........................................................................................................13     5.1 Abstract..................................................................................................................13    6. Sperm utilization pattern in the honeybee ( Apis mellifera  L.).........14     6.1 Abstract..................................................................................................................14    7. Paternity skew in seven species of honeybees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Apis L.)..............................................................................................15     7.1 Abstract   8. APPENDIX.............................................................................................16       

 

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  “Success in sexual reproduction is at the heart of the evolutionary process” Judson 2002  

1 Introduction   An intriguing variety of mating systems and parental investment strategies has been evolved within the insect order Hymenoptera (Thornhill & Alcock 1983, Ayasse et al. 2001). Females of many taxa build nests and provide nutrition to their offspring. For instance, females of sphecid wasps (Apoidea: Spheciformes; the close phylogenetic relatives to the bees; Michener 2000) hunt insects or spiders in order to provision their brood; whereas bees (Apoidea: Apiformes; Michener 2000) in general collect nectar, honeydew and pollen for the same purpose. Parental care and sociality have progressively evolved in the Hymenoptera from the solitary state to a pinnacle in the eusocial bees, wasps and ants. Eusociality is characterised by cooperative brood care, overlapping generations and reproductive reproductive division of labour (Wilson 1971).   1.1 Mating and Reproduction in social Hymenoptera There are two or more female castes in the eusocial Hymenoptera (Wilson 1971). The females of the worker castes usually don’t mate and rarely lay eggs. They are involved in many different tasks such as brood care, foraging or colony defence. The females of the reproductive castes are called either queens (Wilson 1971) or gamergates (=mated workers; Peeters & Crewe 1984, Peeters 1993). The term gyne indicates both potential and actual queens (Michener 1974). The mating behaviour varies substantially in the social Hymenoptera (Hölldobler & Wilson 1990, Ayasse et al. 2001, Strassmann 2001). The most common form of mating system is monandry (Boomsma & Ratnieks 1996). Multiple mating of females is rather rare (Strassmann 2001). In some genera, however, for example Vespula  wasps and Atta  ants (Villesen et al. 1999, Foster et al. 1999), polyandry is the rule rather than the exception. The mating patterns in ants are classified in two major syndromes: the female calling syndrome and the male congregation syndrome (Hölldobler & Bartz 1985). This classification can be applied to many hymenopteran mating systems (Ayasse et al. 2001). Typically, females which “call” males release a sex pheromone near to their emergence site (Ayasse et al. 2001). Males and females in harvester ants of the genus Pogonomyrmex mate at specific landmarks (Hölldobler & Bartz 1985). At these sites many males gather (=male congregation syndrome) and the operational sex ratio is strongly male biased (Hölldobler & Bartz 1985). In Pogonomyrmex ants males do not fight for matings but engage in scramble competition (Hölldobler & Bartz 1985). In the close relatives of the honeybees (Apini), there is much variation in mating patterns. The honeybees are one of four tribes (Euglossini, Bombini, Meliponini) of the corbiculate Apidae (Lockhart & Cameron 2001). Gynes of many bumblee bee species (Bombini) mate on routes marked by the males (Ayasse et al. 2001). Males of some species of the solitary orchid bees (Euglossini) establish small mating territories near to tree-trunks. Here, the males show a typical display behaviour and they also copulate in these territories with the females (Dodson 1966, Kimsey 1980, Stern 1991). Males of many stingless bees (Meliponini) aggregate in “swarms” but, in contrast to honeybees, the congregations are located near the nesting sites (Engels & Imperatriz-Fonseca 1990).  2

 

Reproduction in social Hymenoptera includes on the one hand individual reproduction of males and females, and on the other hand reproduction of the colony (Ruttner 1985, Koeniger 1986). Mating, fertilisation of eggs, and egg-laying are in principle not different from non-social insects. However, colony reproduction constitutes a special event in the life cycle of social insects. Reproduction of the colony can either occur by colony fission or by the release of new sexuals with subsequent colony foundation of the gynes (Michener 1974, Hölldobler & Wilson 1990). In both kinds of colony reproduction, females have to mate before they can establish a colony of their own. Rare exceptions are species that obligatorily reproduce by thelytokous parthenogenesis (Heinze & Tsuji 1995). An example is the queenless myrmicine ant Pristomyrmex pungens (Tsuji 1988).   1.2 Males in social Hymenoptera Sexual dimorphism is common in Hymenoptera (Ayasse et al. 2001) presumably due to different reproductive and parental strategies of males and females. In the social Hymenoptera mainly the females are involved in sustaining the colonies. Males rarely care for the offspring. They generally don’t contribute to tasks as foraging or nest building (Wilson 1971) and hence in comparison to the female castes, males usually receive little attention in studies of social Hymenoptera. Therefore, social hymenopteran males have been termed “The Neglected Sex” (Heinze 2001). Males are fed by their sisters, consume the food storage of the colony, and live in the shelter of the nest. However, males do constitute an important component of the colony fitness (Kraus et al. 2003). They contribute to the inclusive fitness of their sisters (workers and gynes) as well as to the fitness of their mother queen. Moreover, social Hymenoptera males compete for mates with each other just as males of other non-eusocial species do, and therefore form an important independent level of selection. Thus, both natural and sexual selection (Andersson 1994) basically operate on male traits that are related to sexual competition and success at reproduction. The relative lifetime reproductive success of males strongly depends on characteristics of mating behaviour (e.g. performance in mate finding, courtship, and copulation), and on morphological (e.g. shape of reproductive organs) and physiological traits (e.g. production of gametes and accessory secretions). Mating frequencies of social hymenopteran males have been addressed only in few species. New world harvester ant males ( Pogonomyrmex rugosus ) have been suspected to mate multiple times (Hölldobler & Bartz 1985). Reichardt & Wheeler (1996) reported multiple mating in leaf-cutter ant males ( Acromyrmex versicolor ) and Tasei et al. (1998) in bumble bee males ( Bombus terrestris ). The wingless males in the ant Cardiocondyla  were also observed to mate more than once. These ergatoid males, which are one of two male morphs, can replenish their sperm supply (Heinze & Hölldobler 1993). In general, however, hymenopteran males stop to produce sperm early in life (Ayasse et al. 2001) and thus have a limited and fixed sperm supply. It is generally assumed that male animals can increase their fitness by mating with many females (Bateman 1948, Thornhill & Alcock 1983). This may also apply in the Hymenoptera. For instance, in Pogonomyrmex occidentalis  ants young mated queens found new colonies on their own (=haplometrosis) and only very few succeed (Wiernasz et al. 2001). Thus, fitness of P. occidentalis  males may depend on their mating frequencies (Wiernasz et al. 2001). However, the males have a dilemma, because their mating strategy must consider both the fixed and limited sperm supply, and the fitness of the mated female and the colony she establishes. If females have not enough semen after mating, they may not be able to establish a new colony. The number of copulations with successful inseminations is therefore apparently strongly  3

 

constrained in several social hymenopteran males. There might be also a trade-off between the number of males produced by a colony and the size of the males (Hölldobler & Wilson 1990). An increased number of males produced by the colony could cause a decrease of the potential fitness of each single male, if the size of the males and the numbers of spermatozoa produced by the males were correlated (Wiernasz et al. 2001). The mating frequency is particularly limited in males of eusocial stingless bees (Sakagami 1982), honeybees (Koeniger 1986), and leafcutter ants of the genus Atta   (Hölldobler & Wilson 1990). Multiple mating of males is precluded in these taxa since copulations result in the deaths of the males, the possibly most extreme strategy to deliver semen in a single copulation.   1.3 Reproduction in Honeybees Western honeybee workers ( Apis mellifera L.) never mate and their spermathecae are usually rudimentarily developed (Winston 1987). Honeybees are haplo-diploid and males develop regularly from unfertilised eggs due to the sex determining mechanism (Beye et al. 2003). That is, in all subspecies except the Cape honeybee ( A. m. capensis ) workers reproduce by arrhenotokous parthenogenesis (Crozier & Pamilo 1996, but see Mackensen 1953). Workers, however, rarely lay eggs and successful worker reproduction is rather an exception (Visscher 1996, Barron et al. 2001). Workers gain inclusive fitness (Hamilton 1964) through reproduction of their relatives, i.e. primarily by reproduction of their supersister gynes. Supersisters are more closely related with one another ( r = 0.75) than with any other relative because supersisters have a haploid father in common. Nevertheless, the reproductive success of their mother queen, their drone father, their halfsister gynes, and their brothers also increases the workers’ inclusive fitness. Honeybee workers do play an important role in the process of colony reproduction, since colonies split and thousands of workers make up the swarm that attends the queen (Winston 1987). The workers search a new nesting site, build the new combs and start foraging. There are numerous adaptations due to the different roles of queens and workers. Pollen combs and -corbiculae on the hind legs are only present in workers but not in queens. Likewise wax glands occur only in workers. Many specific adaptations in queen honeybees are clearly associated with mating and egg-laying. Queens store spermatozoa in their spermathecae and can keep them alive for many years (Koeniger 1986). The number of ovarioles is more than a hundred times higher in queens (150-180) than in workers (2-12; Winston 1987). Queens can lay about 200.000 eggs per year (Winston 1992). Queens are also adapted to fight with their sisters (Pflugfelder & Koeniger 2003). Shortly after emergence from their special cells virgin queens engage in lethal fights, if they meet another queen (Pflugfelder & Koeniger 2003). There is usually only a single egg-laying queen in the colony. The old queen leaves the nesting site with a prime swarm and a daughter of the old queen inherits the nest. The virgin queen takes one or two short orientation flights (Winston 1987) before she mates on one to several nuptial flights (Roberts 1944, Alber et al. 1955). A considerable number of queens does not return to the colony from their flights indicating a significant mating risk (Ruttner 1980). Matings take place on the wing (Koeniger et al. 1979), on so called drone congregation areas (Ruttner 1985). A honeybee queen usually mates with with more than ten drones (e.g. Estoup et al. 1994 [7-20 matings], Kryger & Moritz 1997 [21-24 matings], Neumann & Moritz 2000 [10-28 matings]). Once queens have started egg-laying, they never remate even if they run out of sperm (Winston 1987). Thus, the sperm  4

 

number in the spermatheca sets a limit to the fitness of the queen. The sperm utilization pattern of the queen can result in a paternity skew (Moritz 1986) and thus it might have an impact on the fitness of the drones. Due to the extreme degree of polyandry, sperm competition might operate in honeybees (Hunter & Birkhead 2002). Potentially, the rank in the sequence of copulations can affect the male’s fitness in polyandrous species (Simmons 2001). All species of the honeybee genus Apis  are highly polyandrous (Palmer & Oldroyd 2000). With respect to their mating behaviour, the nine honeybee species show an important difference in the time of day when nuptial flights of drones and queens occur (Koeniger & Koeniger 2000). The different timing of nuptial flights seems to be a reproductive isolation mechanism of sympatric Asian Apis  species (Koeniger & Koeniger 2000). A strikingly similar situation has been described for sympatric Pogonomyrmex  species in North America (Hölldobler & Bartz 1985). In addition, there is a little difference in the daily start of nuptial flights between the sexes in the Western honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) with the drones leaving the colony for nuptial flights earlier than queens (Koeniger et al. 1989). In addition to sympatric separation over time also spatial separation in the same habitat could result in reproductive isolation. The preferred altitude at which drones establish a drone congregation area differentiates two subspecies of the Western honeybee ( A. m. carnica and A. m. ligustica ; Koeniger et al. 1989). The sites of drone congregation areas of three sympatric Asian Apis  species are spatially separated (Koeniger & Koeniger 2000) which might contribute to their reproductive isolation. Reproductive isolation can also arise from the variation in the anatomies of the male reproductive organs (=endophalli) of the different Apis  species (Koeniger 1991). The varying endophalli seem to be related to different sperm transfer mechanisms (Koeniger 1991).     1.4 Aims and Objectives of the Thesis This thesis is concerned with traits related to reproduction of individual honeybee drones and queens and with their mating behaviour. Resulting consequences for the colony fitness and thus the fitness of the worker caste are discussed.   The main Objectives of this thesis are as follows:   •
to study potential causes of multiple nuptial flights of honeybee queens (e.g. sperm transfer and mating frequency) •
to re-evaluate the relationship between semen production and body size in drone honeybees •
to discuss its potential relevance for the fitness of the individual drone and for the fitness of the colony, respectively •
to study the queen’s utilization pattern of spermatozoa from different drones •
to determine the impact of the drone’s semen production on his siring success •
to re-evaluate the impact of the drone’s rank in the insemination sequence on his siring success •
to study a potential first male advantage in dwarf honeybees and a paternity skew in different Apis species •
to study potential different mating frequencies in Apis species      

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1.5 References Alber M, Jordan R, Ruttner F, and Ruttner H (1955) Von der Paarung der Honigbiene. Z. Bienenforschung 31-28. Andersson M (1994) Sexual selection . Princeton University Press, Princeton. Ayasse M, Paxton R, Tengö J (2001) Mating behavior and chemical communication in the order hymenoptera. Annu. Rev. Entomol. 46:31-78. Barron AB, Oldroyd BP, Ratnieks FLW (2001) Worker reproduction in honey-bees ( Apis ) and the anarchic syndrome: a review. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol.  50:199- 208. Bateman AJ (1948) Intra-sexual selection in Drosophila . Heredity 2:349-368. Beye M, Hasselmann M, Fondrik MK, Page RE, Omholt SW (2003) The gene csd is the primary signal for sexual development in the honeybee and encodes an SR- type protein. Cell 114:419-429 Boomsma JJ & Ratnieks FLW (1996) Paternity in eusocial Hymenoptera. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 351:947-975. Crozier RH & Pamilo P (1996) Evolution of Social Insect Colonies: Sex Allocation and Kin Selection . Oxford University Press. Dodson CH (1966) Ethology of some bees of the tribe Euglossini (Hymenoptera: Apidae). J. Kans. Entomol. Soc. 39:607-629. Engels W & Imperatriz-Fonseca VL (1990) Caste development, Reproductive Strategies, and Control of Fertility in Honey Bees and Stingless Bees. In: Social Insects: an evolutionary approach to castes and reproduction (W. Engels, Ed.) Springer, Berlin, pp. 167-230. Estoup A, Solignac M, Cornuet JM (1994) Precise assessment of the number of patrilines and of genetic relatedness in honeybee colonies. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 258:1-7. Foster KR, Seppä P, Ratnieks FLW & Thorén PA (1999) Low paternity in the hornet Vespa crabro  indicates that multiple mating by queens is derived in vespine wasps. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 46:252-257. Hamilton WD (1964) The genetical evolution of social behaviour. J. Theoret. Biol.   7:1-52. Heinze J (2001) The neglected sex - reproductive tactics of male ants. IUSSI Berlin. Heinze J & Hölldobler B (1993) Fighting for a harem of queens: Physiology of reproduction in Cardiocondyla  male ants. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:8412- 8414. Heinze J & Tsuji K (1995) Ant reproductive strategies. Res. Popul. Ecol. 37:135-149. Hölldobler B & Bartz SH (1985) Sociobiology of reproduction in ants. In: Experimental behavioral ecology and sociobiology  (Fortschritte der Zoologie, no. 31, Hölldobler B and Lindauer M, Eds.) Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, pp. 237- 257. Hölldobler B & Wilson EO (1990) The Ants . Springer Verlag, Berlin. Hunter FM & Birkhead TR (2002) Sperm viability and sperm competition in insects. Cur. Biol. 12:121-123. Judson O (2002) Dr. Tatiana’s sex advice to all creation . Chatto & Windus, London. Kimsey LS (1980) The behaviour of male orchid bees (Apidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta) and the question of leks. Anim. Behav. 28:996-1004.  6

 

Koeniger G (1986) Reproduction and mating behavior. In:  Bee Genetics and Breeding (Rinderer TE, Ed.) Academic Press, Orlando, pp. 255-280. Koeniger G (1991) Diversity in Apis Mating Systems In: Diversity in the Genus Apis . (Smith DR, Ed.) Westview Press, Boulder. Koeniger G, Koeniger N, Fabritius M (1979) Some detailled observations of mating in the honeybee. Bee World 60:53-57. Koeniger G, Koeniger N, Pechhacker H, Ruttner F, Berg S (1989) Assortative mating in a mixed population of european honeybees, Apis mellifera ligustica and Apis mellifera carnica . Insectes soc. 36:129-138. Koeniger N & Koeniger G (2000) Reproductive isolation among species of the genus Apis . Apidologie 31:313-339. Kraus FB, Neumann P, Scharpenberg H, van Praagh J, Moritz RFA (2003) Male fitness of honeybee colonies ( Apis mellifera L.). J. Evol. Biol. 16:914-920. Kryger P & Moritz RFA (1997) Lack of kin recognition in swarming honeybees ( Apis mellifera ). Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 40:271-276. Lockhart PJ & Cameron SA (2001) Trees for bees. Trends Ecol. Evol. 16:84-88. Mackensen O (1953) The occurrence of parthenogenetic females in some strains of honeybees. J. Econom. Entomol. 36:465-467. Michener CD (1974) The social behavior of the bees . Harvard University Press, Cambridge. Michener CD (2000) The bees of the world . John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. Moritz RFA (1986) Intracolonial worker relationship and sperm competition in the honeybee ( Apis mellifera L.). Experientia 42:445-448. Neumann P & Moritz RFA (2000) Testing genetic variance hypotheses for the evolution of polyandry in the honeybee ( Apis mellifera L.). Insectes soc. 47:271- 279. Palmer KA & Oldroyd BP (2000) Evolution of multiple mating in the genus Apis. Apidologie 31:235-248 Peeters C (1993) Monogyny and polygyny in ponerine ants with or without queens. In: Queen number and Sociality in Insects (L. Keller, Ed.) Oxford University Press, pp. 234-261. Peeters C & Crewe R (1984) Insemination controls the reproductive division of labour in a ponerine ant. Naturwissenschaften 71:50-51. Pflugfelder J & Koeniger N (2003) Fight between virgin queens (Apis mellifera) is initiated by contact to the dorsal abdominal surface. Apidologie 34:249-256. Reichardt AK & Wheeler DE (1996) Multiple mating in the ant Acromyrmex versicolor : A case of female control. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 38:219-225. Roberts WC (1944) Multiple mating of queen bees proved by progeny and flight tests. Glean. Bee Cult. 72:281-283. Ruttner F (1980) Könniginnenzucht . Bucharest, Apimondia. Ruttner F (1985) Reproductive behavior in honeybees. In: Experimental behavioral ecology and sociobiology  (Fortschritte der Zoologie, no. 31, Hölldobler B and Lindauer M, Eds.) Sinauer Associates, Sunderland, pp. 225-236. Sakagami SF (1982) Stingless bees. In: Social Insects (Hermann HR, Ed.) Academic Press, New York, pp. 421-437.  7

 

Simmons LW (2001) Sperm competition and its evolutionary consequenses in the insects . Princeton University Press, Princeton. Stern DL (1991) Male territoriality and alternative male behaviors in the euglossine bee, Eulaema meriana (Hymenoptera: Apidae). J. Kans. Entomol. Soc. 64:421- 437. Strassmann JE (2001) The rarity of multiple mating by females in the social Hymenoptera. Insectes soc. 48:1-13. Tasei JN, Moinard C, Moreau L, Himpens B, Guyonnaud S (1998) Relationships between aging, mating, and sperm production in captive Bombus terrestris . J. Apic. Res. 37:107-113. Thornhill R, Alcock J (1983) The evolution of insect mating systems . iUnivers.com, Inc., San Jose. Tsuji K (1988) Obligate parthenogenesis and reproductive division of labor in the Japanese queenless ant Pristomyrmex pungens . Comparison of intranidal and extranidal workers. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 23:247-255. Villesen P, Gertsch PJ, Frydenberg J, Mueller UG and Boomsma JJ (1999) Evolutionary transition from single to multiple mating in fungus-growing ants. Mol. Ecol. 8:1819-1825. Visscher PK (1996) Reproductive conflict in honey bees: A stalemate of worker egg- laying and policing. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 39:237-244. Wiernasz DC, Sater AK, Abell AJ, Cole BJ (2001) Male size, sperm transfer, and colony fitness in the western harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex occidentalis . Evolution 55:324-329 Wilson EO (1971) The Insect Societies . Harvard University Press, Cambridge. Winston ML (1987) The Biology of the Honey Bee . Harvard University Press, Cambridge. Winston ML (1992) The Honey Bee Colony: Life History. In: The Hive and the Honey Bee. (Ed. by J. M. Graham)   pp. 73-101. Hamilton: Dadant and Sons.  

 

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2 Summary The Western honeybee ( Apis mellifera L.) has an extremely polyandrous mating system. In general honeybee queens mate with at least ten drones, but even more than forty matings were detected. In contrast, drone honeybees die during copulation and are thus strictly monogamous. Queens often take multiple nuptial flights. The cost of multiple nuptial flights was studied in relation to potential benefits. The mating frequency of naturally mated queens was analysed using DNA fingerprinting. Queens that were restricted to one nuptial flight, but wanted to take an additional flight, had significantly fewer matings (7.6 ± 1.9) than queens which started oviposition after a single nuptial flight (14.5 ± 1.2). Moreover, the sperm number stored in the spermatheca significantly increased with the number of matings. Presumably, queens adjust their nuptial flight frequency according to the mating success of the previous nuptial flights. The number of copulations seems to serve as a signal for the initiation of oviposition. Furthermore, the findings suggest that a certain number of matings is required to fill the spermatheca to its storage capacity. This is in accord with the sperm limitation hypothesis for the evolution of extreme polyandry. The average sperm number per copulation or nuptial flight that a queen receives depends on the sperm numbers produced by the drones. Yet, drones might differ in sperm numbers for several reasons. Here, the effect of drone honeybee’s body size on semen production was evaluated. In the same colonies, drones were either reared in drone cells (large drones) or in worker cells (small drones). Wing lengths (size indicator) and sperm numbers of small and large drones were compared. Small drones (~13% reduced wing size) produce significantly fewer spermatozoa (7.5 ± 0.5 million) than normally sized drones (11.9 ± 1.0 million spermatozoa). There is a significant positive correlation between sperm number and wing size within the small drones and in both groups combined. In the large group alone no correlation was found. The rearing investment per spermatozoon is lower for small than for normally sized drones because small drones produce more spermatozoa in relation to their body weight. Since colonies usually produce large drones, the enhanced investment must be outweighed by a mating advantage of large drones. The varying sperm numbers of drones can have an impact on their individual fitness. But in addition, the pattern of sperm utilization by the queen affects the drones fitness. Thus, the consequences of sperm utilization for the fitness of the queen’s mates were studied using DNA-fingerprinting. Eight queens were instrumentally inseminated with semen of six or seven drones. Every drone contributed either 0.5 µl or 1.0 µl semen respectively. The impact of the insemination sequence and the amount of semen on the sperm utilization were analysed. The data show no significant effect of the insemination sequence but a strong impact of the semen volume of a drone on the frequency of his worker offspring in the colony. This effect was not linear and the patriline frequencies of the drones contributing larger semen volumes are disproportionately enhanced. If these observations are also valid for natural matings, drone honeybees should maximise the number of sperm but not apply specific mating tactics to be first or last male in a mating sequence. In spite of a lacking first or last male advantage in A. mellifera , the reproductive success of the siring drones is usually strongly biased as inferred from analysing colonies with naturally mated queens. For the dwarf honeybees ( A. andreniformis  and A. florea ) a first male advantage was hypothesized due to the peculiar anatomy of their male genitalia which allows for direct injection of semen into the spermaduct. In order to survey the differences and similarities in paternity skew  9

 

among species in the genus Apis, data from the literature were reanalysed by using a sample size calibration method. As a result the paternity skew among seven honeybee species differed significantly, particularly due to the rare patrilines. The sorting algorithm, i.e. the ranking of the patrilines had, however, a considerable effect on the patternity skew pattern. The more frequently occurring patrilines appear to be similarly distributed in all tested species, suggesting one common sperm transfer mechanism for all honeybees. As a consequence, the proposed first male advantage in the dwarf honeybees is not supported by empirical data.         3 Zusammenfassung Die Westliche Honigbiene ( Apis mellifera L.) weist ein extrem polyandrisches Paarungssystem auf. Im Allgemeinen paaren sich Honigbienenköniginnen mit mindestens zehn Drohnen, aber es wurden sogar mehr als vierzig Paarungen nachgewiesen. Im Gegensatz dazu sterben Drohnen während der Paarung und sind deshalb strikt monogam. Königinnen unternehmen häufig mehrere Hochzeitsflüge. Die Kosten von mehrfachen Hochzeitsflügen wurden in Beziehung zu möglichen Vorteilen untersucht. Die Paarungshäufigkeiten von natürlich gepaarten Königinnen wurden mittels DNA-Fingerprinting analysiert. Königinnen, die auf einen Hochzeitsflug eingeschränkt wurden, die aber zusätzliche Flüge unternehmen wollten, wiesen signifikant weniger Paarungen auf (7,6 ± 1,9) als Königinnen, die nach nur einem Hochzeitsflug mit der Eiablage begannen (14,5 ± 1,2). Außerdem erhöhte sich die Anzahl der in den Spermatheken gespeicherten Spermien signifikant mit der Anzahl der Paarungen. Vermutlich passen Königinnen die Häufigkeit ihrer Hochzeitsflüge dem Paarungserfolg der vorangegangenen Hochzeitsflügen an. Die Anzahl der Kopulationen scheint als ein Signal für die Einleitung der Eiablage zu dienen. Desweiteren lassen die Ergebnisse vermuten, dass eine bestimmte Zahl an Paarungen nötig ist, um die Spermatheka bis zu ihrer Kapazitätsgrenze zu füllen. Dies steht im Einklang mit der Spermienlimitierungshypothese für die Evolution der extremen Polyandrie. Die durchschnittliche Spermienzahl, die eine Königin je Kopulation oder Hochzeitsflug erhält, hängt von der Anzahl der Spermien ab, die von Drohnen produziert wird. Doch Drohnen könnten sich in ihren Spermienzahlen aus verschiedenen Gründen unterscheiden. Hier wurde der Effekt der Körpergröße von   Honigbienendrohnen auf die Spermienproduktion untersucht. In denselben Kolonien wurden Drohnen entweder in Drohnenzellen (große Drohnen) oder in Arbeiterinnenzellen (kleine Drohnen) aufgezogen. Die Flügellängen (als Größenmaß) und die Spermienzahlen von kleinen und großen Drohnen wurden verglichen. Kleine Drohnen (~13% reduzierte Flügelgröße) produzieren signifikant weniger Spermien (7,5 ± 0,5 Millionen) als normal große Drohnen (11,9 ± 1,0 Millionen Spermien). Es gibt eine signifikante, positive Korrelation zwischen den Spermienzahlen und den Flügelgrößen innerhalb der kleinen Drohnen und auch, wenn beide Gruppen zusammengefasst werden. In der großen Gruppe allein wurde keine Korrelation gefunden. Die Aufzuchtsinvestition pro Spermium ist für die kleinen Drohnen niedriger als für die normal großen Drohnen, weil kleine Drohnen mehr Spermien im Verhältnis zu ihrem Körpergewicht produzieren. Da Kolonien gewöhnlich große Drohnen produzieren, muss die erhöhte Investition durch einen Paarungsvorteil der große Drohnen aufgewogen werden.  10